No end in sight for Clearview’s US biometric data privacy lawsuits

Roughly half of the United States want to put the breaks on a settlement agreed to and approved in a biometric data privacy lawsuit against Clearview AI.

The May approval of a settlement granting plaintiffs a stake of 23 percent in the facial recognition provider by Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman appeared to close the five-year saga. But a pair of objectors filed an appeal, which now sits before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

An Amici Curiae brief filed by the attorneys general of 24 states and the District of Columbia in support of objectors-appellants Weissman and Claypool argues that the settlement is inadequate in two ways.

First, the right to biometric data privacy is not sufficiently protected, they argue, because the settlement does not include injunctive relief.

“Essentially, the District Court did not require nationwide class injunctive relief because it did not believe there was directly applicable state law under which to do so,” The AGs write. “But that is simply not the case.” They draw extensively on Patel v. Facebook and its $650 million settlement to make this argument.

The court could meet this requirement by amending the settlement agreement to include “a universal opt-out” method, which would leave those exempting themselves from the suit free to pursue injunctive relief.

Second, the monetary relief, they say, is highly speculative. The AGs quote the third-party mediator in the case saying Clearview has a “precarious financial position” as support for the claim that “class members might receive no compensation at all in exchange for releasing all claims against Clearview.” The potential award of no money “stands in stark contrast to the meaningful monetary relief provided in these similar class action settlements in privacy cases, all of which guaranteed a defined monetary amount for class members,” the amici argue.

This is the second attempt by objectors to appeal the settlement conditions with support from AGs, after Coleman rejected the first.

Jury trial scheduled for 2027

A jury trial is set to begin on March 1, 2027 in a separate lawsuit against Clearview in California, Alameda County Superior Court.

The complaint, Renderos v. Clearview AI (case number RG21096898), dates back to 2021 and alleges Clearview’s biometric database violates the state’s constitution, consumer protection and privacy laws, plus California common law, and also names four law enforcement agencies. The case is proceeding after Clearview’s attempt to block it by claiming the lawsuit is an attempt to stifle constitutionally protected speech rights was rejected by an appeals court.

If it makes it to trial, the case would be the first involving Clearview to be heard by a jury.

A case management conference for discovery is scheduled for November 4, 2025.

Article Topics

biometric data  |  biometrics  |  Clearview AI  |  data privacy  |  facial recognition  |  lawsuits  |  United States